How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

It's been nearly 30 years since the angel descended to this land.

The population of the Virginia community has easily surpassed 300,000, and nameless faction churches and knight strongholds are being established throughout North America.

The large-scale construction connecting Croatoan Island to the mainland is in its final stages, and several steamships have appeared, traveling along the east coast of North America.

Of course, communication between the Continental Covenant and Europe is still handled by clippers.

And the clipper sailors who returned with news from Europe received a summons from an exalted person. They approached him with tension.

Following the road from Chesapeake southward and crossing several bridges, the "Holy Land" comes into view. The captain and navigator briefly kneel and pray before the boundary marker of the Holy Land, then continue forward.

To the green-roofed mansion.

There the nameless one was waiting.

They gazed nervously at the angel tending to grapes in the house. The captain and navigator swallowed, feeling their lips go dry.

As the community's population grew, the angel who had once been as familiar as a neighbor to the people was gradually becoming a harder-to-meet presence.

These sailors, too, had only recently joined the community. The feeling they had toward the angel was closer to reverence than familiarity.

They looked up at the celestial being.

And his mouth opened.

"Was there... any particular news from Europe?"

At his casual greeting, the captain stepped forward and spoke.

"What do you mean by particular news?"

"Exactly what I said. Please tell me if there was any major news."

The captain tilted his head at the somewhat vague question, then spoke as if remembering something.

"Ah, they say the Sultan of the Turks has changed. A nephew overthrew his uncle."

"Nothing else?"

"Pardon?"

The captain was momentarily confused when what he thought was mere small talk was met with another question. The angel gave him no time to think and continued.

"For example, news of a new war breaking out somewhere."

"Such news... I haven't heard due to my limited knowledge. I apologize."

"No need."

After saying that, the angel looked out the window and spoke somewhat cryptically.

"...History seems to have changed."

The sailors couldn't understand the meaning of those words.

Only Kin Issei himself knew what his words meant.

July 1618.

It was about time that some news should have arrived via Britain.

The descriptions of historical events listed in the catalog had been greatly simplified, but the major events still had years and names listed.

That was enough.

The year when a war that would turn all of Europe bloody should have begun.

The time when the Thirty Years' War should have started had already passed.

Kin Issei closed his eyes quietly, falling into deep thought.

Has history changed?

Or...

Has it merely been postponed?

==

The Habsburg family's power dominates all of Europe.

They control the Holy Roman Empire in the German region and Spain, extending their influence toward Italy.

The Habsburgs are the protectors of Catholicism and the guardians of the entire European world.

Of course, they dispute with the Papal States over hegemony in Italy and within the Empire. But ultimately, they stand in a position to protect Europe from the Ottoman Empire by uniting Catholic countries.

And the medium of that unity is the Pope. Imperial authority cannot stand without papal authority.

As much as the relationship with the Papal States and the Catholic faith fluctuated according to the emperor's political ambitions and beliefs, they were nonetheless inseparably linked to Catholicism.

They were the center of Europe.

They were the rulers of Europe.

However, there are elements that could threaten them.

Poland-Lithuania to the east doesn't need immediate attention.

The south of Italy is just small, unremarkable states.

Denmark-Norway to the north, and Sweden, are Lutheran followers.

France's Henry IV is Catholic in name only, putting Protestants in various positions. He seeks to reduce the Catholic Church's influence within his kingdom.

The mere fact that they are Protestants or protect Protestants is not the problem in itself.

They are targeting the Habsburgs.

They want something beyond their station.

...or so many in the family think.

'Well, that's half right.'

The man acknowledged.

Not all Protestants are targeting the mighty Habsburgs. But even so, the intentions of Protestants are always impure.

They don't even try to hide that impurity.

Why does the House of Wittelsbach follow Lutheranism?

They want to crack the imperial authority protected by papal authority. But they don't want to be free from imperial interference.

They want to become emperors themselves.

They seek to seize the imperial throne that has been monopolized by the Habsburgs for three centuries.

And why do the Bohemians follow the teachings of Jan Hus, who has been dead for nearly 200 years?

Do each and every Bohemian peasant really understand Hus's teachings so well?

No.

They want autonomy, and further, essentially an independent kingdom. Breaking the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, they hope to claim a larger share.

And those nobles only dream of becoming kings of that new kingdom. The sweetness of power was making them devout Hussites.

The conversions of various lords and kings were ultimately about standing at the very top of the church.

For example, Elizabeth of England taxes the clergy, stops their charity work, and then passes poor relief laws as if doing a favor.

She takes what belongs to the church and makes it part of herself.

Protestant monarchs try to tolerate no "foreign bodies" within their territories.

What kingdoms built that way would look like... he found it difficult to imagine.

It was unlikely, but if a Lutheran "emperor" were truly born, what would happen to the Empire?

How would the imperial throne, which began when Pope Leo III crowned the great Carolus, continue without a Pope?

It was as difficult to imagine as a human body without bones.

A country stands solely by the power of its monarch. Like the light of a fixed star, radiating from within, all people kneel under the monarch's authority and obey it. Even the clergy are no exception.

Such a country, such a monarch, such a church...

Ah.

He couldn't understand. No, there wasn't even a need to understand. It was an ideal he could never reach anyway.

That was their ideal.

They wanted to crack this world. If one of their demands was met, another would arise. Their greed had no end.

They knew no satisfaction. They converted precisely because they could not be satisfied in the first place.

'...But that makes them useful.'

Because the man himself was one who knew no satisfaction.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Your Majesty, it's time for your duties."

At the knocking sound, he rises from his seat and moves with the assistance of various attendants.

Until very recently, the Holy Roman Empire was under the rule of an incompetent and foolish older brother.

Rudolf II made politically foolish choices, persecuted Protestants, and performed poorly in the war against the Ottomans.

However, the man who commanded the war against the Ottomans on the front lines proved his competence.

And the man subtly left room for dialogue with the persecuted Protestants. They immediately became the man's allies and rebelled against Rudolf II.

Thus...

"Your Majesty."

"Open the door. I need to go to the office."

The man, Matthias von Habsburg, became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

His health is deteriorating, and he ascended to the throne rather late in life, but it is a position he fought for nonetheless.

His brother Rudolf, who abdicated the throne, died recently in despair, so now he is the sole ruler of the Empire.

He sits with dignity and coughs dryly. Various officials in colorful attire bring different reports.

He reads the reports and sighs with relief.

"...The siege of Aachen is finished. Both sides have calmed down now?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Both Wolfgang Wilhelm and John Sigismund are showing a forward-looking attitude in negotiations."